By Wil S. Hyton



Chances
are you’ve never heard of Sinclair Broadcast Group. Sure, it might be
the largest independent owner of television stations in America, an
empire of sixty channels spread across thirty-seven cities with a
signal that reaches nearly a quarter of the TV-watching public, but
even if you happen to receive that signal and watch it every night,
getting your Sinclair news and Sinclair weather and Sinclair commentary
from a Sinclair station, chances are you’ve still never heard of
Sinclair and have no idea you’re watching it.

You won’t see the word Sinclair on your screen, and you’ll probably
just think you’re watching ABC or CBS or NBC, whichever network you
thought you tuned in. Right there on the screen, you’ll see the old
familiar logo—a peacock, an eye, the ABC bubble—and the anchors will
look the same as ever, and the fact that the station has been purchased
by Sinclair will be no more apparent than the fact that twenty or
thirty minutes into the program, the real news will suddenly fade to
black and Sinclair’s news will take over.

It may be a glowing interview with a defense contractor or a fiery
commentary on the evils of the French, something brief and punchy
lasting two or ten or fourteen minutes, then slipping back into the
regular news as quietly as it came. Not so much as a blip or a bleep to
let you know that what you just witnessed was not the local NBC or CBS
broadcast but just a little insert from the guys who own the station.

That’s the goal at Sinclair: to be seen without being seen.

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